BUCKFAST are considering legal action against the BBC after a presenter claimed the tonic wine causes more deaths than heroin.

The allegation was made last week by comedian Simon Evans in a BBC Radio 4 programme on alcohol.

In an extended rant, which some listeners branded patronising and sneering, Evans slated Buckfast, saying it was made from red wine slops.

He said: “Buckie and other alcoholic drinks take the lives of incomparably more users than heroin, cocaine and every illegal drug known to man.”

He also claimed that consumption of Buckfast is a major cause of violent crime in parts of Scotland.

Evans added: “It is made and sold in Buckfast Abbey in Devon by monks.These monks buy the cheapest red wine available from the continent’s industrial drip trays and beef it up with what amounts to highly caffeinated cough syrup.”

The programme, Simon Evans Goes to Market, was described by the BBC as a comedy programme on the economics of alcohol – part of a four- week series on addictions.

Buckfast

To laughs from a studio audience, Evans added: “Buckie is then in theory sold up and down the country to those in need of a little pick-me-up before their evening meal.

“But in practice it’s mostly driven to the off sales and supermarkets serving the less well-off parts of Lanarkshire where it is widely held to be responsible for a substantial proportion of Scotland’s violent crime – or certainly that which occurs in parts of what is known as Buckie Triangle.

“This is a lot like the Bermuda Triangle but, instead of planes disappearing, it is entire weekends.

“And yet despite the Church’s long and distinquished history of campaigning against intemperance, the monks of Buckfast have taken a vow of silence on the role their product plays north of the Border.”

Evans, 50, also tells the audience he has never tried Buckfast and quips the BBC would not insure a fellow contributor to drink it.

Yesterday, J Chandler & Co, who distribute Buckfast in the UK, said they were taking legal advice.

Sales manager Stuart Wilson said: “Some of the comments he has made about alcohol, and references to drugs, are highly inappropriate. It’s something we’ll be passing to our legal team in the coming days.

“Buckfast is singled out unfairly. It is no different from any other brand of alcohol if it is consumed responsibly.”

The BBC said: “This is not something we would comment on.”

In January 2010, a BBC probe showed Buckfast had been mentioned in 5638 crime reports in Strathclyde from 2006 to 2009 – an average of three a day.

In February 2013, Chandler applied to the Court of Session in Edinburgh to stop police from marking bottles of Buckfast so they could trace where under-age drinkers bought them.

The case was settled last year when Police Scotland apologised to Chandler.

Earlier this month, it was revealed Chandler had hired a Michelin-starred chef to promote the drink as an ingredient in gourmet dishes, such as Buckfast-infused pheasant.